Ahmedabad

A new car manufacturing plant of Ford near Sanand in Gujarat will be operational this month according to sources.

Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel will inaugurate the plant in presence of US consulate on 26 March, sources added.

The company is likely to produce New Ford Figo twins in this plant. Reports suggest the one car will be a Ford Figo hatchback and another will be a sub-4 metre sedan (unveiled as Ford Ka and Ka+ in Brazil) that is touted to replace the Ford Classic. Ford Figo compact sedan will be launched in July, while hatchback model will set foot in the market in September.

Ford is investing over a USD 1 billion in a 2.5 lakh car plant in Gujarat, which will more than double its capacity in India. While Tata Motors had already invested in Sanand, Gujarat government under Mr Modi was very keen that a global car maker set up a base in Gujarat and persuaded Ford to invest.

Flat out, the plant would have an annual production capacity of 2.5 lakh units while the initial production capacity is expected to be around 1.4-1.5 lakh units (800-900 units per day) in 2015.

The Sanand plant was commissioned in 2012 when Mr. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat.

With the ‘One Ford’ global product strategy in place, Ford India is planning to expand its export markets from the current 50 to around 100 – 120 in due course. The Sanand plant is expected to contribute the lion’s share of Ford India’s export operations.

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